25 November 2007

18 Ways To Know That You Have Bicycle Culture

Here it is. A quick and easy - and very tongue-in-cheek - guide to determining if you live in a city with bike culture. All from the good people here at Copenhagenize.com.

1. ”Fixed gear” is something than happens after you take your old Raleigh down to one of the 20-30 bike shops in your neighbourhood to have them look at ”broken gear”.

2. If a car honks at you in traffic, you hardly notice. Instead it makes you think that it's been a while since you took your kids to the park to feed the ducks... Hmmm... maybe this Sunday?

3. You think nothing of riding home in 35 degree heat, with your four year-old on the bike seat, two bags of groceries dangling on your handlebars, talking to your partner on the phone about dinner - all the while heading up a steep hill and STILL being able to growl ”Stay on the right!” in three languages at the weaving, gasping tourists on their rental bikes whom you just flew past as though they were carved in stone.

4. When you feel yourself start sweating on the bike lanes on your way to work... you just ride slower. And if the forecast is for hot weather, you leave for work a bit earlier so you don't have to ride so fast and get too sweaty.

5. The only place you ever see Lycra or spandex is in old Jane Fonda workout videos or on joggers in the parks.

6. And you're quite sure that Gortex is that guy who plays midfield for Bayern München.

7. When your bike breaks down and is in for repairs you take your other bike, or you take the train or bus. Even though your car is parked out front.

8. Of the few people who wear those helmet things in the world's safest cycling nation, only a handful are actually wearing them correctly and many just carry their helmet in their basket.

9. The odd-person out in your circle of friends is the one who has never fallen off their bike while riding home drunk. You mock him/her regularly.

10. You have, at one time or another, checked to see if your clothes match your bike.

11. You and your friends have repeated discussions about which bike repair shop in your neighbourhood is the best for price and service.

12. When you see somebody with rolled up trouser legs you think, ”what a shame that fellow can't afford a chain guard”. You consider rolling up next to him at the next light to give him some money.

13. You don't even know that you live in a ”bike culture” and have never used the expression. You just ride.

14. You use your time waiting at a red light in bicycle rush hour with over 100 other cyclists to check out new fashions. ”Wonder where she got those shoes? Cool sunglasses on that guy... must be Prada.”

This from the CTC, the UK's cycle campaigning organisation's weekly e-newsletter, received today makes encouraging reading:

Demonstrating results

Cycling England’s six ‘Cycle Demonstration Towns’ reported back to other local authorities on their experiences, at a conference this week. The towns are all using the money in different ways but were all able to report early signs of increased cycle use. Minister for Transport, Rosie Winterton admitted that establishing a Dutch or Danish-style cycling culture will require long term commitment and funding. Encouragingly, she said, “We are going to work with Cycling England and give that long term commitment”. An announcement is expected shortly on further funding for Cycling England."

sorry to post this as a comment, but i couldn't find a way to email you (very clever!), and it's not so inappropriate anyway.i invite your readers to check out a video interview on the Streetfilms site (based in New York City) with NY Times Magazine writer Randy Cohen, whose column "The Ethicist" regularly dispenses advice to readers on the ethics of their various life decisions. in this interview he makes very clear his position against the private automobile and in favor of walking and biking. let's hope it gets some people (especially my fellow car-gound Americans) to give at least a little thought to the topic.

As one who lives in NYC, which may be one of the better American cities for biking but hardly in the same class as European cities, I am envious.

I have written from time to time on how biking will become acceptable in NYC only when it is seen as "normative" and not the "others". Wearing spandex and helmets, biking too fast, yelling at pedestians , having $2000 fixed speed bikes, all makes bikers stand out as some weirdos (for the record, I have a 10yr old 7speed "commuter" with bell, lights and two racks.)

Or, as I once put it, if your knew many of your neighbors and family were bikers, you would be less inclined to be aggressive in your car towards bikes.

The antipathy towards bikers here is astounding; when bike lanes are to be added, people turn out in force to object...one actually said he didn't want "hordes of cyclists" on his street. He should be so lucky.

I found this entry linked to on Todd @ Clever Cycles blog. I liked it so much, I made a link to it myself, and added you to my blogroll: your site kicks ass! Until the drivers in my area get a clue, or we get the "Copenhagen Treatment", I'll keep wearing my finest bike geekery. I envy y'all your "bike culture", though I do love the weather here!

Ok, it was our culture but what is the present conditions. If all people will following this culture then we have fuel sufficiency. I know its a foolish idea but think about it. Also your work will be remembered.

I've only just discovered your blog and I really love this post. Unfortunately bike culture here in Canada tends to be somewhat elitist. When spotted riding my trek hybrid in slacks and a golf shirt I'm usually referred to by the spandex crowd as, "the idiot with a bike who can't dress himself properly." Oh well.

Our cycling culture in Cambridge, UK, is called modal warfare. We know this because of all the CYCLISTS DISMOUNT signs at almost every junction, and NO CYCLISTS or DO NOT LEAVE BICYCLES HERE OR THEY WILL BE REMOVED signs everywhere.

I think this is because the UK culture is set by petrolheads, the Daily Mail, and Jeremy Clarkson. Indeed I believe Mr Clarkson has said he'd rather jump off a bridge than live in 'boring Copenhagen'.

I wish he would. Copenhagen looks like heaven compared to carmageddon Cambridge.

Congratulations on your blog, I thionk it's awesom ! I live in the Southamerican city of Buenos Aires where bikes are not given the priority they should, and where if you don't drive a car; you're no one. That makes me quite sad, but I've said to me I'd make something about it and I've been driving my bike half an hour every morning to my university. And I must say it's one of the best decisions I've made this year. I've putted a dynamo-driven-light (since I go out at 6 in the morning, and it's very dark) and now I wan't to put a basket to carry my back-pack. Don't miss understand me, I have no fear to drive a car, and I will get my driver's licence soon. But I intend to use the car the least I need (that means not using it at all). The current city governor has the intention to promote bikes, but I see that difficult to happen. I hope one day they'll realize... Keep on this great blog!Best wishes

13. You don't even know that you live in a ”bike culture” and have never used the expression. You just ride.It's spot on, living in Copenhagen we apparently need people from non-bike cultures to tell us what we've got. :-D

I live in a bike unfriendly and unsafe area and find the blind hatred of cyclists amazing. Bike lanes are rare but slowly becoming more common however they are always littered with sand, gravel, glass, nails, and other debris. The city cleans streets by sweeping the trash into the bike lanes which double as drainage ditches. After being hit by a car and the responding cop stating it was the drivers fault, he did not give her a ticket and tried to get a date with her daughter. This is unfortunately typical of the area.

9. The odd-person out in your circle of friends is the one who has never fallen off their bike while riding home drunk. You mock him/her regularly.

Though here in Switzerland that will get you fined by the police and potentially banned from using your bike for 3 months.

I found this and the fact cyclists have to have third party insurance (a sticker on the bike that costs roughly 3.5 Euro per year) quite strange to begin with. However, this equality with other road users really does normalize cycling as a legitimate form of transport.

This compulsory third party insurance may be something to consider campaigning for as it is a quick/easy way to negate all the sniping from car drivers about using 'their' roads. It should be cheap as accidents involving damage to other people and property involving bikes are infrequent and the potentially the insurance could include a small levy to fund cycling infrastructure. The impact on people new to cycling is minimal as the sticker is included with all new bikes.

Finally while I enjoy your blog and think it raises some interesting points I do find your antipathy for lycra wearers a bit grating - you wouldn't wear jeans and a t-shirt while swimming lengths or playing tennis so why sneer at people enjoying their sport?

Since I was a teeneager, I have been a collector of bikes. I even have 1 specific bike that look like this.. In our hometown, bikers in some places are prohibited, no bike lanes are provided making cycling limited to certain areas

Dear Copenhagenize,thanks for your blog. Best I 've seen so far. I am based in Geneva, and we're just half way to the perfect cycling city ... lots of fixies (amongst which mine), very few cargo bikes, and too many electric bikes (it still puzzles me why we call them bicycles and not motorbikes). Now they're passing a law to make it compulsory for electric bike riders and bicyclist under 14 to wear a helmet ... Grrrr

So envious from the "Number one cycling city" in the US, Minneapolis, MN (I think it's back to Portland Again, but Mpls was considered so for one year). I think maybe 2 of these are true of my experience

Kilometres cycled by Copenhageners so far today

Copenhagenize.com is the blog of Copenhagenize Design Company. Online since 2007 and highlighting the cycling life in Copenhagen and around the world.

40 years ago Copenhagen was just as car-clogged as anywhere else but now 41% of the population arriving at work or education do so on bicycles, from all over the Metro area. 55% of Copenhageners themselves use bicycles each day. They all use over 1000 km of bicycle lanes in Greater Copenhagen for their journeys. Copenhagenizing is possible anywhere.